UNIT 2 - ECOLOGY REVIEW
Study the following major concepts. Can you:
 Describe abiotic/biotic features for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
 Identify/describe levels of biological organization (individual  population  community 
ecosystem  biome  biosphere).
 Distinguish between hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere.
 Given information, draw food chains and food webs.
 Analyze food webs in terms of impact of increase/decrease of population.
 Identify producers, herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, decomposers and scavengers from
food webs.
 Describe their importance.
 Describe the movement of energy along a food chain. Why is energy lost?
 Compare photosynthesis and cellular respiration (word and chemical equations, importance,
etc. see table).
 Label and describe the cycles of matter (nitrogen, carbon and water)
 Give examples of the disruptions to the nutrient cycling. Explain our human impact.
 Compare and contrast population growth patterns (exponential and logistic).
 Define carrying capacity and explain its importance to healthy ecosystems.
 Draw a graph illustrating population growth. Label axes, plot points correctly and analyze
information and population growth or decline. Make inferences about future of population
based on the graph.
 Identify limiting factors (density dependent and independent). Explain how they affect
population.
 Distinguish between bioaccumulation and biomagnification.
 Discuss the risks and benefits of pesticides and other chemicals in our environment.
 Describe invasive species and their negative impact on native species. Describe their
various impacts (social, economical, health).
 Discuss other human impacts discussed in class.
Making/Using Flash Cards:
-
Identify the term that is being described and write the term on the opposite side). (make a
-
glossary, flash cards, list)
Make another set of cards with EXAMPLES of the word + term. Try to find all of the
matches. Not only are you learning the vocabulary but you are also making an extra
connection to an example, picture, etc.
Complete Review Questions for Wednesday:
-
p. 68-71 #1 – 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 25(use your table), p. 160 24, 57, 66, 67, 68
M/C; T/F p. 158 – 161 #1-8, 11-13, 17-19, 20-22, 24, 57, 66, 67, 68
The non living physical and chemical A representation of the feeding
components of an ecosystem.
relationships within a community.
The layer of gases surrounding the
Earth
All of Earth’s water in solid, liquid
and gas form
The concentration of a substance,
such as a pesticide in the body of
an organism.
A non-native species whose
intentional or accidental
introduction negatively impacts the
natural environment.
The increase in the concentration
Any factor that restricts the size
of a substance, such as a pesticide, of a population
as it moves higher up the food web.
The variety of life in a particular
ecosystem, also known as biological
diversity.
The movement of matter through
the biotic and abiotic environment.
Earth’s solid outer layer
The series of processes in which
nitrogen compounds are moved
through the biotic and abiotic
environment
A large geographical region defined A substance used to kill pests
by climate (precipitation and
temprerature) with a specific set
of biotic and abiotic features.
The zone around Earth where life
The process in which the Sun’s
can exist.
energy is converted into chemical
energy.
Living things, their remains and
features.
The cycle in which carbon moves
through the lithosphere,
atmosphere, hydrosphere and
biosphere.
The maximum population size of a
particular species that a given
ecosystem can sustain.
The process by which sugar and
oxygen are converted into carbon
dioxide and water, to provide
energy for the cell.
The function a species serves in its
ecosystem, including what it eats,
what eats it and how it behaves.
All the living organisms and their
physical and chemical environment.
A species facing extirpation or
extinction
A sequence of organisms each
feeding on the next, showing the
An organism that makes its own
energy-rich food compounds using
the Sun’s energy.
transfer of energy from one
organism to another.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND CELLULAR RESPIRATION
Write the word equations for cellular respiration and photosynthesis.
What is the purpose of photosynthesis? Which organisms perform p/s?
What is the purpose of cellular respiration? Which organisms perform cellular respiration?
Study your table comparing photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
Explain how plants can perform cellular respiration only at night when they perform photosynthesis during the day?
Use the food web:
Which species do you think would be most affected if anteaters were removed from this ecosystem?
How would the removal of the fig wasps alter this ecosystem? Why?
What would happen to the population of fig trees over a long time? Explain.
Unlike tropical rainforests, the tundra has relatively few species. How might the lost of a species in the tundra compare to
the loss of a species In the tropical rainforest/
How do food webs show the interdependence of one species on the others?
Section 2.6 (p. 48-49) BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
List the main sources of carbon entering the atmosphere.
Describe 2 ways in which humans affect the carbon cycle.
Describe 2 ways in which humans affect the nitrogen cycle.
Nitrogen cannot be used by living things easily. How does nitrogen become useable to living things?
How is the nitrogen in dead organisms released back into the soil?
Section 2.2 Food Webs